Under the Cover of Night
by JP McClendon
Summary: Finally finished! Low Light goes on a solo mission. Chapter 7 and epilogue up. Chapters short on purpose. Please R&R!
1. Under the Cover of Night

**Author's note: **I don't own the G.I. Joe franchise. This is merely a fanfiction. I own only those characters that were created for purposes of this story. Have a nice day!

**Under the Cover of Night**

Low Light was sitting alone at a table in the mess hall. It had been about 96 hours since he had last slept. His hands shook ever so slightly from the copious amounts of caffeine running through his system to keep him awake. He was silently grateful for the large red goggles he wore as a part of his uniform, as he didn't want anyone else to see how tired he really was. He desperately needed to go to sleep, but he was afraid to for fear of what dreams he would have once he was asleep.

Silently, Lifeline observed the nighttime sniper from across the room. Ever since Dr. Mindbender's dream machine incident, he had watched Low Light very closely. He could tell that Low Light was reaching his sleep deprivation threshold. He quietly stood up, got himself two cups of fresh coffee, and walked over to where Low Light was sitting. Low Light did not move at first when Lifeline sat down across from him and slid one of the cups of coffee over to him. Low Light slowly looked up at the medic. Lifeline gave him a weak smile.

"You looked like you needed a fresh cup," he said.

"Thank you," Low Light said plainly as he reached for the cup.

"Ever since Dr. Mindbender used his dream machine on us," began Lifeline. Low Light just looked at him with a frown. Lifeline shifted a nervously in his seat before continuing. "I have done some research into dreams and the like. There have been drugs developed to block out dreams."

"I don't like drugs," said Low Light. "Drugs never solve problems."

"But you could finally get some sleep at night without worrying about having nightmares," said Lifeline.

"I said no," said Low Light. With that he stood up and walked out of the mess hall. Lifeline just shook his head sadly.

Low Light walked off back to his quarters and lay down on his bed. His eyes were barely closed before he was asleep.

* * *

"_Dad, don't leave me alone in the dark! Dad! Please come back!"_

_"Cooper, you are such a disappointment to me. If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to make you a man!"_

Rats closed in on young Cooper McBride from all sides as he screamed for his father to save him. One of them jumped at Cooper's face, but before it could touch him Low Light sat bolt upright in his bed in a cold sweat. "Damn it!" he cursed. He picked his goggles off the nightstand and threw them against the far wall. Then his head slumped into his hands. "Damn it."

**To be continued…**


	2. Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well

**Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well**

"Low Light report to General Hawk's office on the double!" Dialtone's voice echoed throughout the hallway. Low Light lifted his head out of his hands and looked around. Quietly he rubbed his eyes before walking over to his goggles, picking them up, and putting them on.

Once he was ready, Low Light made the long walk from the living area to the General's office. As he walked he tried to shake away the fatigue that still had not gone away. He was again thankful for the fact that his eyes were covered so that General Hawk didn't easily notice how tired he was. Once he got closer to General Hawk's office, he noticed that the door was uncharacteristically open. Low Light froze in his tracks and silently ran his hand down his leg to his sidearm. Cautiously, he crept towards the doorway with his hand on his sidearm. Slowly and carefully, Low Light peered around the door and saw that General Hawk was standing, alone, at the open window.

"Sir?" Low Light asked.

"Ah, Low Light," said Hawk. "Come in."

"Pardon my asking, but why was the door open?" asked Low Light.

"The air-conditioning in my office is broken," said Hawk. "And it got quite hot in here. I was just trying to cool things down."

Low Light eased his hand away from his sidearm and sat down in a chair in front of Hawk's desk. General Hawk took out a key from around his neck and opened a locked drawer in his desk. He let out a deep steadying sigh before withdrawing a manila folder marked "TOP SECRET!"

"COBRA has acquired two new members," said Hawk. "They are a Shooter and Spotter team that go by the aliases Bulls-Eye and Pinpoint."

Low Light looked on intently. General Hawk continued. "Our latest intelligence reports indicate that COBRA currently has them on assignment in South America to assassinate a few key political figures. What I need from you is to stop them at all costs. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," said Low Light with a grin. He stood up and saluted. Hawk saluted him back and handed him the folder.

"Good luck," said Hawk.

"These guys are the ones who are going to need the luck, sir," said Low Light as he turned to leave. Hawk gave him a wry smile.

Low Light walked silently back to his quarters to pack. His father was sitting on his bed waiting for him. "You're going to fail son," he said to Low Light. "You're such a disappointment to me."

"No, dad," said Low Light barely audible. "I won't fail."

**To be continued…**


	3. The Hunt Begins

**The Hunt Begins**

Eight hours later, Low Light was aboard a Joe transport plane to South America. He was quietly reading the dossiers of both his targets. Both had had extensive careers thus far. Even though he was the Spotter for the duo, Pinpoint was also a highly accomplished sniper with more high-profile kills credited to him than Bulls-Eye. Clearly, they were a force to be reckoned with, either separate or together.

Low Light's headset crackled. "Time to go," said the pilot. Silently, Low Light stood up and headed for the hatch. A maintenance tech opened the hatch for him and stood by to see if he needed help. Low Light looked at him casually and gave him a thumbs up signal. Then he braced himself against the opening of the hatch, took a deep breath, and jumped. He took in a great breath of air as he saw the ground approaching fast. When the time came, he pulled the ripcord of his parachute and came to an almost dead stop. Quietly, he guided himself through the air to his landing spot. Once on the ground, he quickly disposed of his parachute and drew his rifle. Checking the compass in the stock he headed off south in a straight line.

Pinpoint dropped his binoculars from his eyes and looked at the much younger Bulls-Eye a few yards away. "Low Light has arrived right on schedule," he said to Bulls-Eye.

Bulls-Eye looked at his spotter nervously. "Are you sure we can take him down?" he asked Pinpoint.

"If we can catch him in the daylight, yes," said Pinpoint. "But, if we let him see the night, we're both dead."

Bulls-Eye swallowed hard. Pinpoint smiled at his shooter's very obvious anxiety. "Relax," he said to Bulls-Eye. "I've got this covered."

"You sure?" asked Bulls-Eye.

"He is," replied Pinpoint. "So I have to be too."

**To be continued…**


	4. Arguments

**Arguments**

Bulls-Eye adjusted the sights and the scope on his rifle. Pinpoint smiled and slung his own rifle over his shoulder and headed off into the brush.

Low Light continued to move south towards the town on his map. He figured that if he kept up the pace he was currently on, he would reach the town by nightfall. With any luck, he thought, the people in the town will know something about his two targets.

"You're out of your element Cooper," said his father as he walked beside Low Light. "You work best at night. And you should have dropped in under the cover of night. What were you thinking parachuting in during the bright sunshine of the day?"

"And waste the night with travel?" asked Low Light.

"No, son," said his father. "The hunt for these two has already begun, and you should have done it at night, when you are supposed to be at your best. Didn't I teach you anything growing up?"

"You taught me more than I wanted to know," said the sniper bitterly. "And a lot of what you taught me I'm not sure was worth learning."

Low Light's father vanished from view and Low Light continued his trek towards the village alone.

* * *

Bulls-Eye peered through his scope at the night sniper. Pinpoint took a close look through his binoculars and frowned. Low Light was being too obvious. "I can take him right out, now," said Bulls-Eye quietly.

"No," said Pinpoint. "Wait. Something's not right."

"They're watching you, Cooper," said Low Light's father. "They're up on that ridge to your left, a thousand yards out. They can drop you at any time. They have the light and the wind."

"I know, Dad," said Low Light. "That's what I'm counting on."

"This is a trap," said Pinpoint. "Disengage for now. We can get him later."

"But I can take him now!" said Bulls-Eye losing his temper.

"Quiet, fool!" ordered Pinpoint barely containing his voice. "You'll give away our position!"

Low Light smiled and kept walking, his plan had worked.

"Very interesting, Cooper," said his father.

"Thank you, Dad," said Low Light. "I thought you'd like it when you found out what I was doing."

**To be continued…**


	5. A Little Surprise

**A Little Surprise**

Low Light reached the village shortly after dark. In his normal quiet brooding manner, he went right into the village tavern and got a cup of coffee. He barely held back a grimace of dissatisfaction at how horrible the coffee was, but at least it perked up his energy. Paying for his coffee, he took it to an empty table across the room, and sat down facing the door. Then he pulled out a pistol, put it on the table, and faced it towards the door. Once he felt he had the angle of trajectory perfect, he undid the safety, curled his finger around the trigger, and watched in wait.

Outside, Pinpoint and Bulls-Eye were arguing about the fact that they could easily have taken down Low Light. "It would be over right now if we had done things my way!" shouted Bulls-Eye.

"Have some patience damn it!" shouted Pinpoint back at him as he walked in first.

Low Light smiled and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and before either Bulls-Eye or Pinpoint had any time to react, the shot hit Pinpoint square in the chest. Pinpoint was halted right in his steps and let out a surprised gasp before looking down at his chest. When he realized that he hadn't been killed and his body armor had protected him, he let out a sigh of relief. Bulls-Eye frowned and pushed passed Pinpoint to confront the nighttime sniper. "You think that's funny?" he asked. "How's this for funny?" With that he switched his rifle to fully automatic and sprayed bullets across the room. Low Light dove out of the way and knocked over a table to use for cover. Bulls-Eye's clip was empty a few moments later and he paused to reload. Low Light took a deep breath, got up, and made a mad dash for behind the bar. Pinpoint took a few half-hearted shots with his own pistol to make it look as though he was actually putting forth some concern and effort. He was not really interested in dealing with Low Light here and now in some sort of John Woo-like shootout. He wanted to deal with Low Light the sniper's way. This sort of display was not his scene. Once Bulls-Eye was finally finished reloading his gun he resumed fire while Pinpoint just walked to a table in the center of the room and sat down with a bottle of whiskey to have a drink.

"Let me know when the two of you are done," he said to both Low Light and Bulls-Eye. "And try not to shoot me while you're at it."

Low Light stayed where he was behind the bar trying to weigh his options. "No plan ever survives contact with the enemy," said his father.

"Not now, Dad," said Low Light in a low hiss.

Bulls-Eye pulled a grenade and was about to pull the pin when he noticed that Pinpoint was glaring at him. "What?" he asked his spotter. Pinpoint just shook his head no. Bulls-Eye gave a small pout and put the grenade away.

"He'll do us all a favor if he gets himself killed," said Pinpoint under his breath right before he took another shot of whiskey.

"You only have one opponent here, Cooper," said Low Light's father as he stood up to look around. "The spotter wants no part in the fight. Concentrate on the shooter."

"I know, Dad," said Low Light. "I'm not a rookie."

"Then start acting like it," said his father before he disappeared again.

**To be continued…**


	6. Shootout

**Shootout**

Low Light took in one or two deep breaths then readied himself for a fight. Grabbing a bottle of tequila, he took a quick swig and then threw it off to the side so as to distract his assailant. Bulls-Eye took the bait and shot in the direction of the thrown bottle. Pinpoint just rolled his eyes and considered for a moment about shooting Bulls-Eye himself.

"This guy is an idiot, Cooper," said his father. "He's no threat to you. Just kill him now."

"Never underestimate a stupid person, dad," said Low Light.

"What's the matter, Joe?" taunted Bulls-Eye. "Afraid? You should be!" Come out now and I'll make it quick for you."

"Like hell you will," said Low Light.

"Okay," said Bulls-Eye. "You're right. I'm gonna take my time and hurt you."

"Like hell you will," said Low Light again.

"Are you gonna do anything to stop me?" Bulls-Eye continued to taunt. "Or are you gonna stay hidden behind the bar?"

"You don't really want me to do that, Cobra," said Low Light.

"Oh yes I do, Joe!" said Bulls-Eye. "You have no idea how much I do."

"This guy is practically begging you to kill him," said Low Light's father. "You should oblige him."

"Shut up, dad," said Low Light under his breath.

"Who are you telling to shut up?" challenged Bulls-Eye.

Low Light rolled his eyes. "See what you started?" he said to his father. "Just do me one favor and go away for right now. If I live, you can come back."

"Suit yourself, Cooper," said his father as he faded from sight. Low Light breathed in a sigh of relief.

"Come on out, Joe!" shouted Bulls-Eye. "Be a man! Come out!"

Low Light grabbed another bottle of liquor and pulled out the cork. Next he found a dirty dishrag and liberally coated it with some of the contents of the bottle. Then he stuffed the rag into the opening of the bottle. Finally, he pulled out his lighter and lit the rag. As he gave the rag a few moments to burn, Low Light grabbed up his pistol. With his gun in one hand and the bottle in the other, he let out a quick exhale, stood up, squeezed off a few random cover shots to distract Bulls-Eye, and then threw the bottle at him. The bottle hit him in the lower abdomen and he was quickly ablaze. While his spotter ran about the room trying to put himself out, Pinpoint looked at Low Light and gave him a satisfied, if not slightly surprised, nod.

"Holy Shit!" shouted Bulls-Eye as he continued to try and put himself out. "I'm on fucking fire!"

"Yeah," said Pinpoint. "And that's got to suck for you."

"A lot," added Low Light as he took aim at Bulls-Eye. With several well-placed shots, he dropped the sniper dead in his still-burning tracks. Then he quickly turned to point his gun at Pinpoint who was, by now, pointing his own pistol back at him.

"Mexican standoff?" Pinpoint asked.

"It would appear that way," replied Low Light. "But I don't recommend for long as your buddy over there is beginning to set the rest of this place on fire."

"Then we finish this off the sniper's way?" asked Pinpoint. "In the jungle, tonight?"

"If that's how you want it," said Low Light. "I'm game."

"Good," said Pinpoint. "What time do you want to do this?"

"This was your idea," responded Low Light. "You choose."

"How about midnight?"

"Sounds good to me. You won't try to start earlier?"

"Not if you don't. Call it professional courtesy."

"All right. See you out there."

"Not if I see you first. Goodbye, Low Light."

"Goodbye, Pinpoint."

With that the two of them put their guns away and Pinpoint backed out of the bar. Low Light never took his eyes off of him until he was out of sight.

"One down," said Low Light's father. "One left to go."

**To be continued…**


	7. On The Hunt

**On the Hunt**

Low Light took one last shot of tequila as he looked at his watch. It was barely 9 PM. "Terrific," he said aloud. "I hate waiting."

"Then why wait, Cooper?" asked his father. "You should go out there and find yourself a good position to…"

"I know, Dad!" interrupted Low Light. "I'm not new at this!"

"He made a mistake choosing a start time of midnight, Cooper. You should take be taking advantage of that."

"He knows what he's doing, Dad. Midnight was no mistake."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the night's clear and the moon's shining bright. That's why."

"Well, then you do have your work cut out for you now don't you?"

"Yes I do."

With that, Low Light doused what was left of Bulls-Eye and exited the bar. Pinpoint had left an obvious trail for him to follow. "He's teasing you, Cooper," said his father.

"Or testing me," retorted Low Light. As the two of them walked into the woods, Low Light put some camouflage paint on his face.

"Do you really think that stuff will help you?"

"I don't know, Dad. I'll soon find out."

"Somehow, Cooper," began his father judgmentally. "I highly doubt it."

Elsewhere, Pinpoint was getting set up just under a piece of dense foliage. He smiled to himself as he extended the legs of his bipod. This was the sniper battle he had been waiting his entire career for. The fact that it cost him Bulls-Eye seemed trivial. He only hoped that the choice of starting this battle at midnight did not come back to bite him on the ass.

* * *

Low Light knelt down to examine the ground around him. Pinpoint's obvious trail ended here and Low Light was hoping to find evidence of his not-so-obvious trail. Looking at his watch he realized that it was almost midnight. "Cooper," said his father. "Time's running out to prepare."

"Sssh," hissed Low Light. "Let me think."

"Not your strong suit, Cooper," replied his father. "Must I do everything myself? His trail ends here because he jumped up onto that branch above you."

Low Light looked up and realized that his father was indeed correct. With a great sigh he stood up and considered the branch.

"Bingo," said Pinpoint in a low voice as he squeezed off a shot. Low Light didn't know what hit him until he was lying on his back looking up at his father's face.

"That was really stupid, Cooper," said his father as he smacked his son on the cheek. "Never just stand up."

"I'll try and remember that, Dad," hissed Low Light. "Is it bad?"

"You were lucky…" said his father with a smile. "This time. Another few inches over and that shot would probably have taken your arm clean off."

"Your watch must be slow, Low Light!" taunted Pinpoint, knowing full well that Low Light was in no position to try to ascertain Pinpoint's location.

"Rather I think yours is fast!" taunted Low Light back as he clutched at his injury. "Besides, you missed all my vital spots!"

"Get up, Cooper!" ordered his father. "It's only a flesh wound. The bullet went straight through. Show me you're tougher than this! Get up!"

Low Light rolled over and began to crawl behind the closest tree for cover. Pinpoint smiled and squeezed off another round. This time his shot hit Low Light in the thigh. Low Light gave off a growl of pain and pulled himself behind the tree.

"I'm pissed now, Dad!" said Low Light as he sat up against the tree and un-slung his rifle. "Oh, God! I'm pissed!"

"Good," said his father with a smile. "Now go kill that sack of shit."

"I plan to," said Low Light.

"Feel like giving up, Low Light?" asked Pinpoint. "Just stick your head out and I'll end it quick for you. No pain, I promise!"

"I'm just getting started, Pinpoint!" shouted Low Light. "You better change your position now because I know where you are!"

"We'll soon see about that," said Pinpoint under his breath as he took careful aim.

Low Light's father stood in the open and looked around. "He's got an elevated position," he said to his son. "But he's also got a limited line of sight. You can take him if you're smart."

"I know, Dad," said Low Light as he took the safety off his rifle and prepared to fire. Then a thought struck him. Setting his rifle down, Low Light pulled out his pistol and grabbed a stick. Then he took off his cap and put it on the end of the stick.

"Do you really think he's going to fall for that, Cooper?" asked his father.

"Only one way to find out for sure," replied Low Light as he stuck his cap into view. Sure enough, Pinpoint inadvertently took the bait and shot the cap.

"Gotcha!" said Low Light as he peered around the tree and squeezed off a few rounds right at his opponent. Pinpoint instinctively flattened further down.

"Damn!" Pinpoint said to himself. "This guy's better than I thought."

"Did you see him, Cooper?" asked his father. "Do you know where he is?"

"Yup," said Low Light plainly.

"Then end this!" ordered his father.

"Okay, Dad," said Low Light as he took a forceful exhale. Then, in an instant, he rolled out from behind cover onto his stomach and fired off three quick shots with his rifle. The first shot missed, but it got Pinpoint to move enough in the direction Low Light was hoping for that the second and third shots hit him directly in the face, killing him instantly.

Low Light took a deep breath of relief and rolled over onto his back. With a bit of a strain, he took out his radio headset and turned it on. Putting the microphone to his lips, he set the transmitter for send.

"This is the Night Owl to base," he began. "Authentication Code Two-Five-Four-Alpha-Charlie-Tango. Over"

Shifting the transmitter to receive, Low Light listened for a reply. After a few seconds, a bit of static came on then a clear voice saying, "This is base, Night Owl. What's your status? Over."

"Status is: Mission Complete," said Low Light. "Permission to return home? Over."

"Permission granted, Low Light," said another voice on the radio. It was General Hawk. "Well done. We'll send someone to get you shortly."

"Thank you, sir," said Low Light. "I look forward to it."

"I'll be damned, Cooper," said his father. "You actually pulled it off. And you only got shot a couple of times doing it."

"Coming from you, Dad," said Low Light as he began to nod off to sleep. "That's a compliment."

**To be continued…**


	8. Epilogue: Home Again

**Epilogue: Home Again**

A few days later, Low Light pulled up to a nursing home a short drive away from Crosby, North Dakota. Wincing a little as he got out of his vehicle, he began a slow and methodical walk of the halls until he got to the main visitors' area. Silently he glanced at all the faces in the room until he found the one he was looking for. It belonged to a thin and frail old man who was sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket over his legs. Low Light took a few deep breaths and walked straight over to the man. The old man did not notice him at first, but when he did he looked right up at him and gazed into Low Light's eyes. For a few seconds nothing was said between the two men. Finally, Low Light crouched down to put himself at eye-level with the old man. "Hi, Dad," said Low Light finally.

A warm smile crossed the man's lips. "Cooper!" said his father, who suddenly didn't seem so elderly. "It's been a long time son, what brings you here?"

"Ah," stammered Low Light. "I've just been thinking about you a lot lately and I wanted to come and see how you were doing."

"I'm doing just fine," said his father proudly. "The doctors say there is not reason why I shouldn't outlive all of them."

Low Light smiled. "That's great, Dad," he began. "Hey! Let's go outside and get some sun. It's kinda dark in here."

"Sure," said his father. "Do you want me to get an orderly?"

"No," replied Low Light. "I can handle it."

With that, Low Light took the brake off the wheelchair and pushed his father down the hall and out the door so that they could go for a walk in the garden. "So how is that team you're with working out for you?" asked his father. "They treating you good?"

"I have no complaints," said Low Light.

"Good," said his father.

"Dad?" said Low Light as he stopped the wheelchair and once again put on the brake.

"What is it, Cooper?" asked his father.

"Nothing," said Low Light. "I just wanted to let you know that I loved you, that's all."

"I love you, too, son," said his father with a tearful smile. "And despite all the things I ever said to you when you were growing up, I couldn't be more proud of you."

**The End.**


End file.
